Sexual Perversity in Chicago

David Mamet's ribald 1974 classic gets a refreshing update in this debut production from First Floor Theater. Working around the edges of a fully mocked-up dive bar, an ambitious young cast engage Mamet's tale of four twentysomethings and their fumbling, often caustic attempts to figure out sex and relationships--and pull it off nicely. Andrew Cutler is jarringly fresh-faced as foul-mouthed womanizer Bernie Litko, but still delivers a credible, side-splitting performance. Of the quartet, only Amanda Fink fails to find the core of her character--quarrelsome, repressed Joan. Despite a few anachronisms in the script, directors Audrey Francis and Will Bishop give their up-tempo staging a present-day feel. --Keith Griffith